We are now just a few days before Black Friday and the start of the crazy holiday shopping season. We are all book lovers here which means chances are high we will all probably buy a book or related gift for at least 1 person on our shopping lists. Carrie and I plus our guest today, Bri Esposito, are here to help. Bri has been the marketing coordinator for Carmichael Books, Louisville’s oldest independent bookstore, for the last few years and puts together their holiday buying guide.

Today’s guests, mk Eagle and Hannah Elliott, are librarians at Louisville’s new Northeast Regional Library’s branch and also coordinate much of the adult programming system-wide. They started a program 4 years ago called Books and Brews 502, which is just like the LIbrary’s summer reading program for kids but in this case an awesome winter program for adults that can include beer, coffee, and food.

Carrie and I have a very special guest today. Alix Harrow is a Hugo award-winning writer of historical fantasy fiction who also happens to be a fellow Kentuckian. Her debut novel, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, has been called by Kirkus Reviews a ‘A love letter to imagination, adventure, the written word,’ and NPR books says it is one that should go on your Favorites Shelf. It has been on the Los Angeles Times Bestsellers List. She is a rising star in the burgeoning female revolution taking place in the science fiction and fantasy genres

Our guest today, Amy Miller, is the executive director of Louisville Literary Arts, an organization whose mission is to offer writers support in whatever stage they are in; whether that be before any words are put on a page or to an already published author. And while the Writer’s Block Festival is their biggest event, Louisville Literary Arts provides numerous other programs, many of them free, all year round.

Do you love a good Broadway show? So does Michael Drury, the producing artistic director of Pandora Productions, a theater company solely dedicated to telling the stories of the LGBTQ Plus community. And this passion made him tenacious in pursuing the rights to produce Fun Home, a Broadway musical based on the critically acclaimed 2007 graphic memoir of the same name by Alison Bechdel, who is best known for her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For. The play adaptation won the Tony award for Best Musical and Best Original Score. Pandora’s production will be the regional premiere of this play.

Our guest today, Kim Colette Ballard, has hit the booknerd jackpot. She is a book buyer for Riot Book Cellar, a new independent bookstore and wine bar in the small town of Bardstown Kentucky, a place known for its bourbon distilleries and being at the heart of the Bourbon Trail. She helped the manager and owner develop the book bar concept in this quaint tourist town about 45 minutes outside of Louisville KY.

Amy and Carrie talk about some bookish events they have attended lately such as a storytelling festival, Southern Festival of the Book, author talks, and private bookstore recommendations.

Tony Dingman is an actor, historical educator, playwright, and creator of the Frazier History Museum’s annual event An Evening with Poe, which is a celebration of everything dark and macabre about this great American author. For 10 years he and the other actors at the Frazier have been adapting and creatively performing such classics as The Raven, The Bells, and the Tell-Tale Heart but they also include the lesser known works of Edgar Allan Poe each Halloween season.

Today’s guest, Hannah Rae Montgomery, is Actor’s theater’s dramaturg. Don’t know what a dramaturg is? Neither did we until we talked with Hannah Rae. A dramaturg is basically a literary editor on the staff of a theater who helps the directors interpret and research texts for their productions. She tells us what is new and fresh about the roles for women in this year’s Dracula, why people come to see it year after year, and how Bram Stoker’s book differs from the play adaptation. It’s close to Halloween and time to talk literature’s favorite vampire.

Today’s guest Bob Thompson, professionally known as Colonel Bob, is a master storyteller and producer of the Corn Island Storytelling Festival happening on October 19 at Blackacre State Nature Preserve just outside of Louisville. He is also the author of 2 short story collections and hosts a radio Show, Kentucky Homefront, featuring regional music and storytellers on WFPK 91.9 on Saturdays at 8 am. Bob Thompson is one busy colonel !